


Into the Dark(ness)

by Sesenka



Series: In Time to Come [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Fantasy, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Spoilers for KH3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-04 18:11:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17903051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sesenka/pseuds/Sesenka
Summary: After the end of the final battle, Vanitas finds himself alone in a world, with the time ticking down until his body completely fails him. He still has no wish to be saved; at this point it's only out of some kind of stubbornness that he's found himself alive at all. But, he's committed to let it end as *he* expected...until he finds that those plans might've changed once he's met a face that seems too familiar for comfort. Roxas isn't looking for much, he's just trying to live a normal life, but is it everything he hoped? Or does encountering Vanitas bring a shade to his life that he never realized he needed before?In the meanwhile, in the shadows, the gears of war seem to turn, with players inserted on the new chessboard--what will become of these new pieces? Will they continue to dance to the strings of fate and the ones who pull them, are Roxas and Vanitas these chess pieces? And even if they are or not...will they obtain a happy ending? Or will Xehanort's specter damn them to eternal suffering?





	1. Initiation

**Author's Note:**

> My first RokuVani fanfic, I hope you all like it! Also I...wrote this before KH3 came out but didn't finish it until I beat KH3 so I had to make this Canon Divergent. And, after the way Vanitas was treated, I'm glad that I have. /Lies on side, because that shit messed me up
> 
> ...Also I guess this is another Plot with Porn, so you've been warned ig.

Vanitas wasn’t surprised that all of that had gone absolutely and positively terrible. Ever since he had been under Xehanort’s thumb again, he was back to living a life of hell, and of course no matter how hard _he_ tried, he couldn’t get anything good out of it. Part of him had felt surprisingly full of schadenfreude upon seeing his Master’s plans begin to fall when he made his exit, but now where had he to go? There was nothing for him.

 

And he was in a terrible state for it too...

 

The black-haired boy scowled to himself as he forced his feet to trek through the forest he’d teleported to. He heard Ventus’ and Sora’s words in his head like some kind of irritating sound that went in a circle comparable to an eternal merry-go-round. They spoke those words like it was so easy, but with his stubbornness to remain on his own, they made little sense much he try to see it from any angle logically.

 

He wouldn’t live for long but allowing himself to simply fade away seemed objectionable to him in a way he himself didn’t understand – he’d been seeking oblivion, reunion, and the conjuring of the X-Blade for so long that it didn’t feel right to fall apart. But maybe there could temporarily be a life without Master Xehanort; one final chance to rub it in Ventus’ face “I told you so” in regards to his true nature – that “I see” back there didn’t sound as if Ventus truly believed what he’d have to say. Perhaps he was irritated about that.

 

Whatever the case, Vanitas was unsatisfied, as he ever was.

 

The place he’d landed was on a quiet, relatively peaceful world too, which would mean he’d be less likely to run into any idiots while ruminating on how he’ll spend his last days as he literally falls apart at the seams and eventually into the shadows themselves.

 

He then slipped unconscious as it’s so easy to in a state like this. When he opened his eyes, a day had already been wasted, and Vanitas forced himself to his feet.

 

_“Don’t you want to be stronger? In order to produce the X-Blade that is **what** you must become, and what use is a creature who can’t even manage that?”_

 

His purpose...the X-Blade—no, he had no purpose anymore.

 

What did he do now? Even his earlier thoughts from yesterday don’t invoke a singular want for him to act. But, he’s alive for however that’ll la—

 

The sound of bushes rustling caused those thoughts to immediately fade to the blackness, his eyes narrowing as he turns towards the sound, summoning Void Gear. His eyebrows rose as he watched Ventus - no, it’s _Not-Ventus_ \- emerge from the bushes, and then the black-haired boy’s eyes narrowed. “What do _you_ want?”

 

Before Roxas could answer, Vanitas suddenly laughed and asked, “Oh wait, did you notice I escaped and wanted to finish me off? Go ahead, _maybe_ I’ll give you a free shot to let you put me out of _my_ misery...”

 

The blond just shook his head and placed a hand on his hip. “Do you ever just listen to yourself talk? If I wanted to waste my time doing something like that, it’d already have been done already.”

 

Vanitas scoffed - what, did he not think he was worth the time? How contemptuous. At the least he could believe it wasn’t a lie. “Then what _do_ you want?”

 

Roxas shrugged and replied, “Nothing, if you’re not up to anything. I was taking a run through here, and I stumbled upon you, I guess.”

 

Figures that he’d end up picking a world where one of the lightbearers would decide to establish a permanent residence. He actually couldn’t believe it at first, but the blond was in something definitely resembling casual wear—a black, loose tank top and grey pants. Said blond then asked, “What’re you doing here?”

 

Vanitas scowled, his expression now only somewhat hidden due to the damage his helmet had sustained. His own words did not follow quickly in his irritated state as he thought over them some. He bet that if he wanted to, however, he could leap straight onto Roxas and then still finish him in a heartbeat due to taking him by surprise. As he thought this, the blond rose an eyebrow. “Hello? You still there?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Roxas’ eyebrows both raised. “What?”

 

“I said shut up.”

 

Roxas’ expression turned from a little put off to annoyed. “No? I was asking you a question—but, whatever. I don’t really care what a jerk does on his spare time as long as he’s not up to anything. If you are, though, I won’t hesitate to bring you down.”

 

Vanitas scoffed. “Like you could.”

 

Roxas rolled his eyes. “I could. I’d rather not, but I could. There’s been enough fighting right now, so let’s not do anything unless it’s a friendly spar or something.”

 

That’s not what Vanitas expected in terms of how the other would take it, but he supposed it wasn’t too unreasonable. Not that he would _say_ as much — but then the other Keyblade wielder turned his back on Vanitas and began to walk off. Before Vanitas even realized what, he was doing, he took two more steps towards Roxas, and really, the other boy _did_ look like Ventus. As he thought this, Vanitas’ hand began to reach out to the Nobody from behind.

 

He still wanted to be whole, he was still hurting _so_ much, and ... he had his face. That boy _had his **face**_. Maybe they

 

could

 

 _become **one**_.

 

“Hey Roxas! What’re you doing here!?”

 

Vanitas’ eyes narrowed and he vanished into the darkness at the sudden appearance of Roxas’ friends. When he did, the blue-eyed blond turned to look behind him, as if he felt the disappearance of something but not sure what. Then he shrugged and fixed his gaze right back on Hayner. “Just taking a little run. What about you, Hayner?”

 

...

 

Nightfall came over Twilight Town as it did with any other world in the Realm of Light. The black-haired boy was sure that no one else would be around except for the one he was searching for. It was easy to locate Roxas’ residence, especially after a generous amount of stalking - he just put off sneaking into it later on because he’d prefer to give the blond a nasty surprise. Maybe it was out of spite, maybe because he wanted to see if he could find another way to end his pain, or maybe it was just his nature to try giving someone trouble just because he could.

 

It was child’s play to slip in because the idiot left a window open - he didn’t even need to portal in. Ridiculous.

 

He found himself in a hall and feeling a little envious that Roxas had such a nice living space - there was even a fire place and a spacious living room that Vanitas embarrassingly found himself almost lost in because he didn’t know where to go next. He...also found Roxas’ bathroom, but the blond wasn’t on the toilet, so he didn’t get a chance to scare him shitless (ha!) there.

 

He crept closer to what he was sure was likely the blond’s room and—

 

Darkness.

 

When Vanitas opened his eyes, they were wide and frantically darting around before he quickly sat up on the bed. Wait.

 

A bed?

 

The black-haired boy pushed his hands on the soft feeling of the blankets on top of the mattress, feeling his fingers sink in a bit, and did it repeatedly because of how shocking it was not to be lying on something that was hard. He bounced a little on the bed, then decided to bounce again on it but harder, before he came to his senses straight after. He needed to focus and figure out what happened - he paused at the thought too, finding his answer soon after a little bit of clearing his head.

 

Roxas must’ve moved him to the bed...though with his aching body, Vanitas was loathe to move from a bed that was soft and so _nice_.

 

He saw his helmet on the wardrobe nearby the bed but left it as he exited the bedroom. He then heard the sound of cooking and the smell of food, which might’ve been instrumental in speeding up his steps. He found the source of these things within the kitchen and the blond in more casual wear - a sleeveless white turtleneck shirt and black-grey pants.

 

Roxas had just finished making eggs and bacon, but it was only a little after that Vanitas was able to clear his head from the sudden hunger he felt on top of his normal amount of pain. “You...”

 

The blond turned around to face him with a plate of food, holding it out to him - it had some bacon and eggs with toast. “Before you get angry with me, just remember _you’re_ the one who broke into my house and passed out right before my bedroom door.”

 

Vanitas’ mouth opened and closed right after, and he scoffed before snatching the plate right out of his hands. Then he moved to sit on the table like some gremlin with zero manners, making Roxas frown and say, “There’s a chair.”

 

Vanitas smirked and said, “Doesn’t matter.”

 

Roxas’ frown deepened and then he flicked some extra bacon from the pan at Vanitas, who just narrowed his eyes at him. But then the black-haired boy decided he didn’t care enough and then went to town on his food, even if he was eying the blond warily all the same. Roxas had scooped up his own plate and leaned against the kitchen counter as he also dug in.

 

A silence hung in the air until they were both finished, which prompted Vanitas to ask, “Why bother with all of this, then? I’m the one who broke in your house, you don’t have any reason to help me.”

 

Roxas blinked and asked, “Do you have anywhere else to go or stay?”

 

Vanitas fell silent, and the blond said, “Thought so.”

 

“‘Thought so’?”

 

Roxas ignored Vanitas’ sneer and said, “If you had somewhere, you wouldn’t have broken into _my_ house and fainted.”

 

Vanitas replied, “You can’t always just assume that’ll be the case just because someone has no place to go.”

 

“No, but with you it would be.”

 

The blond put away his dish and then took Vanitas’, ignoring the irritated look on the other’s face, and saying, “And if it’s not true you could say so at any time.”

 

Vanitas said nothing, but he now looked like an irritated wet cat.

 

The dark Keyblade Wielder leapt off the table, coming close to the blond, and said blond turned to face him, blue eyes steely in a way Vanitas’ hadn’t anticipated. But, Vanitas said, “You’ll regret thinking it’ll be easy to win me over.”

 

Roxas said, “I never said anything about doing any of that. You can leave now.”

 

The other blinked at that. “What?”

 

“You can leave, unless you want me to hug and cuddle you close or something.”

 

Vanitas’ eyes widened.

 

...

 

The black-haired boy had never found himself out of a place so fast before in his entire life.

 

But now that he was really out, he found that Twilight Town wasn’t a bad place to come by upon accident. It had this calm, serene atmosphere that made the ache in his body seem distant at times. It was actually kind of... _nice_ , as loathe as he was to admit to it. It made him decide he’d linger in the town some more, wanting to figure out what he’s going to do _now_.

 

It was strange now that Master Xehanort was gone, he had mostly no idea what to do with himself at times besides making some vague plans that he’d abandon due to how limited of a time he had _left_. He still _needed_ to be whole, but he knew just going after Ventus and trying to make it happen wouldn’t work. After all, he’d tried so many times in the past and the last one met with another resounding failure. To make things even (not) better, going to try to force Ventus into a reunion now probably meant going toe to toe with Aqua and Terra, which wasn’t an attractive prospect.

 

The black-haired boy leapt up onto one of the buildings and sat on the edge of it, allowing the sun’s rays to fall upon him. He still had his broken helmet left back at Roxas’, not that he was seeing much of a use in its current state now, so he could actually feel the warmth radiating from them on his face as well. It felt nice enough for him to close his eyes and give into the sensation.

 

However, that wasn’t meant to last.

 

Vanitas’ eyes snapped wide open and then he faced a dark-haired boy in a large white and black shirt. This made this stranger look at the other warily - moreso upon noticing Vanitas’ yellow eyes. “...Nnnot Sora.”

 

“ _Vanitas_ ,” stated the slightly irritable party, practically scowling before he decided that maybe he’d need that helmet after all and leapt straight off the building.

 

Pence rubbed the back of his head. “...Hopefully I didn’t offend him.”

 

...

 

The black-haired boy found himself right in front of Roxas’ house again as night fell, and really, he wondered why he had. But despite him internally struggling with the idea of knocking or not, he decided at last to portal on inside.

 

It was warm and cozy, as opposed to the slightly night chilly air (though even that was much warmer than the coldest of nights in the Keyblade Graveyard.) He also heard voices, carrying across to each other with exchanged words which became more audible as the sources of them gravitated closer to the entrance of the house. Of course, that was where he was right now, and Vanitas wasn’t in the mood to deal with much company, so he decided instantly to slip right into the shadows for a moment.

 

Then, he watched as Roxas chatted to a dark-haired girl, before he bade her goodbye and goodnight. Once she left, Vanitas emerged, and Roxas said, “You could’ve knocked, you know.”

 

The black-clad male smirked lazily. “What would be the point of that?”

 

Roxas rolled his eyes as he went further into his living space and Vanitas follow. “Surprised you didn’t freak out first time you saw my face.”

 

The blond shrugged, grabbing some food off the table and held it out to Vanitas, who just pushed it away, saying, “Don’t need it.”

 

Roxas blinked and then began to move it to the refrigerator with the rest of dinner’s leftovers, muttering, “Made too much, then...”

 

Vanitas asked, “Expecting more idiots to come over?”

 

“Sora was too busy, so not really.”

 

The dark-haired male looked slightly amused, finding it a little funny. “Why’d you come by, Vanitas?”

 

“To make your life a living hell.”

 

“How about a _serious_ answer?”

 

Roxas finished placing all the food from dinner into the fridge but Vanitas continued to lean against the wall, a smirk clear on his lips. “It’s warmer in here, and you didn’t learn your lesson on not to let darkness in through the front the _first_ time, so here I am.”

 

The blond went to do dishes and said, “Can’t help it if darkness keeps using corridors to get in instead of knocking like everyone else, but if it keeps you from causing trouble in Twilight Town, I don’t mind.”

 

Vanitas fell silent for a moment and then said, “Maybe you shouldn’t take it for granted - my benevolence, that is.”

 

Roxas turned to fix him a glare and replied, “Maybe you shouldn’t take _my_ kindness for granted.”

 

That made Vanitas blink, taken aback a little. “You should’ve known I wou—”

 

The words fell short because Vanitas had to raise his hands to catch a pillow from the kitchen in the nearby living room that the blond had teleported over to fetch and toss his way. He then managed to catch Roxas’ back as the blond headed towards his bedroom, dishes clean, and Vanitas still holding a couch pillow. “My spare room’s down the hall on the right. You can use it if you want; I’m going to bed.”

 

Before Vanitas could respond, the blond shut the door tightly and loudly, leaving him to just stare at it before heading off to locate said guest room. It was the same one he was in earlier today, and the helmet was still where it was before. He reached out to it and allowed a teensy bit of darkness in it to flow into the helmet, closing the hole with ease.

 

But instead of putting it on he decided to place it back down on the wardrobe and crawl right into the bed.

 

Then he leaned back against the bed and closed his eyes, curling up into a ball as he tried to sleep ontop of the covers.

 

...

 

“Wake up sleepyhead - unless you don’t want any breakfast.”

 

Vanitas shot up in bed and hurried out of the room; in his hurry he managed to stub his toe on the door even with boots on.

 

Roxas heard Vanitas’ loud swear and snorted before he found an angrish-looking dark Keyblade Wielder in front of him. He then said, “I’m going to the beach with some friends today. Want to come with?”

 

Vanitas sneered as he took the food. “And why would I?”

 

“You don’t want to see Sora or Ventus?”  
  
“ _No_.”

 

_A few hours later..._

 

Vanitas found himself a little ways from the beach - where Roxas had gone off ahead. The fact that he was here wasn’t because he was dragged here - but he had been too damn curious to see Sora and Ventus after their stupid moment of trying to get him to go to their side. He didn’t care about their wellbeing to ‘check up on them’ like Roxas did, however. They were idiots, and that’s about the size of it.

 

Though what he was honestly not looking forward to was the idea of Aqua and Terra being there. But, if Roxas along with the two idiots were there, he doubts that the two would be much successful in killing him on the spot a few days earlier than he was due.

 

Still, he stuck to the shadows for the early part of things, not willing or wanting to talk to the others. When he did decide to step out from where he was, Ventus (unsurprisingly) seemed to know he was there before anyone else and hurried over to meet him with a bright smile. “Vanitas! You’re...okay.”

 

Vanitas scoffed. “You—”

 

“—Aren’t you hot in that?”

 

The dark-haired boy crossed his arms. “Don’t be an idiot, _Ventus_.”

 

Ventus frowned and then shook his head. “Look, did you come to play with us or not?”

 

Vanitas just up and _laughed_ in his face. “ **No**. Unlike all of you, I have better things to do with my time. If you think I’m going to be stupidly letting my guard down too, then you have another thing coming.”

 

Ventus sighed and then seemed to realize something - a smile of sorts coming to his lips that Vanitas didn’t like. Especially since it was a knowing one. “So... does that mean you were looking out for us this entire time?”

 

A sudden pause came over the two...a seagull made a cry in the background. Then Vanitas asked in a deceptively calm voice, “Why don’t you come a little closer and try saying that again?”

 

The blond just grinned and hurried off. “Nah! No need to be so embarrassed about it, though.”

 

 _That’s it,_ thought Vanitas, and he went to chase the other boy down to the beach proper. He watched as some of the others stopped in their own activities after they saw him, hearing Ventus’ playful laughter.

 

Seeing so many of people’s watchful gazes and knowing their abilities made Vanitas stop in his chase, and take a step back, feeling suddenly out of sorts. The distrust in their eyes was palpable, and Ventus seemed to catch on, the playfulness fading from him. He began to say, “Hey, guys—”

 

Vanitas turned away, preparing to head away from all of this, feeling a strange pull at his chest that _wasn’t_ fear, but he couldn’t explain it just yet. But, Roxas happened to stop him on the way there, holding out a stick of sea-salt ice cream. He scoffed as he took it and asked, “What’s _this_ supposed to be?”

 

Ventus took one from Roxas as the other blond had an extra. Then, Roxas replied, “Sea-salt ice cream. It’s the best ice cream ever - also, aren’t you hot in that?”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and decided that sometimes Roxas did share a similarity with Ventus besides their appearances. He test-tasted the treat and heard some of the others get back to playing around. So, he had to wonder if they didn’t think of him as threat anymore - was it that easy because Aqua and Terra weren’t around? What if he suddenly unleashed a swarm of Unversed?

 

Some of the people here didn’t look like fighters, after all.

 

The thought sounded awfully less appealing than if he had considered it before the whole battle hadn’t happened a day or so ago. He was just...so _tired_.

 

Maybe that’s why he was even going along with this in the first place - why he picked someone to trudge after. He heard a certain familiar voice call out to him. “Hey, Vanitas! It’s good of you to join us - how was staying with Roxas? Did you guys do a lot of fun things together?”

 

Vanitas’ heart practically skipped a beat as his eyes landed on Sora - he registered it just as surprise despite Roxas mentioning the brunet would also be here. His friendliness made him want to gag, but also beside him was a light-haired, taller male who Vanitas recognized as another one of Sora’s friends.

 

The dark-haired male said frankly, “You talk too much.”

 

Riku said with a slight smile, “Yeah, he’s always been like that.”

 

Vanitas snorted. “That’s unfortunate.”

 

“Hey! I’m RIGHT here guys!”

 

Roxas then watched as everyone mostly seemed to relax, smiling a little to himself. Then he heard someone ask, “You really must like him, huh?”

 

The blond turned to face Xion, who smiled at him, and he felt his face warm. “Wha—?! No way!”

 

The black-haired girl giggled, much to Roxas’ chagrin, and the blond watched as Vanitas tried to trip up Ventus when there was some frisbee throwing activity going on. Roxas then added, “Seriously, there’s just no way. We’ve only been talking for a couple of days too.”

 

Ienzo suddenly spoke up from where he was, which was underneath an umbrella on a towel with a laptop beside him, “It’s been scientifically proven that it can take someone as little as four hours to fall in love with someone they’ve just met.”

 

“...You know what? I’m going to prove how quick I can stuff a large amount of sand in your _mouth_.”

 

Lea, who had just returned from some water splashing adventures, joined in. “Don’t be shy. Besides, your type’s tall, dark, and handsome.”

 

Roxas scrunched up his face. “He’s not _tall_.”

 

“Oooh, you didn’t deny it _that_ time.”

 

The blond began kicking sand at the red head, and Isa added in from the sidelines, “You had it coming, Lea.”

 

“Hey, did not! Ganging up on me is totally unfair, by the way.”

 

In the meanwhile, Vanitas began to draw his presence away from Ventus and his friends, deciding he’d had enough of their stupidity for one day.

 

...

 

Almost everyone had separated when it was in the afternoon, and soon it was just Roxas, Xion, Vanitas, and Ventus walking away from the beach. Ventus stopped in his walk, and said to Vanitas, “It’s too bad you can’t come by and visit.”

 

“Like I’d want to. I’d probably accidentally kill you and your stupid friends.”

 

Roxas rose a brow as Ventus frowned, but then the frown shifted into a slight smile as he said, “I had fun playing with you guys. You too, Vanitas.”

 

Ventus then leaned forward to whisper to Roxas, “Take care of him, okay?”

 

Vanitas twitched. “I _heard_ that.”

 

“Oops, time to go!”

 

The blond quickly hit his pauldron, opened a portal with his Keyblade, and summoned his glider, before zooming right into it, with the light portal closing in an instant right behind him. Vanitas said snidely, “Next time I see him, he’s dead.”

 

Roxas shook his head and said, “C’mon, we still have a ways to go before we get home.”

 

It didn’t take them long to reach Twilight Town proper, and when they did, Vanitas looked around. It seemed more silent than usual, and on top of that, he felt as if they were being watched. It was enough to make him summon Void Gear and turn his head towards a dark alley they’d not quite finished passing. He heard Roxas ask, “What’s wrong?”

 

Xion asked, “Did something happen?”

 

“Obviously. Neither of you are that stupid - don’t wait until you get back in your cozy home to face whoever this coward is, unless you _want_ to die.”

 

Roxas said, “I was hoping whoever it was would mind their business.”

 

Xion frowned and just summon her Keyblade, while Roxas sighed. He really _wasn’t_ in the mood for a fight, but he was prepared for it. But even as they waited, nothing happened — and then Xion turned back to them. “Whatever it is went away.”

 

The two didn’t summon away their Keyblades, feeling too wary to do so, and Roxas didn’t blame them for that at least - at the very least they manage to reach his place just fine. He looked at the other two and said, “You two can stay over if you want. I’m not sure if I want either of you to be wandering around with someone spying on us.”

 

Xion nodded and said, “My place isn’t so far, but staying over one night can’t hurt.”

 

Vanitas crossed his arms. “No thanks. I’ve had enough of your ‘charity’.”

 

The black-haired girl turned to face him and said, “Vanitas, he’s just worried about us.”

 

“He should spend time worrying over someone who’s an actual person.”

 

Xion countered, “But we _are_ actual people!”

 

“You are, you mean. You can’t even consider me anything like that - just half of someone that’s bound to be tossed aside for a better person who has all that they need _not_ to fall apart.”

 

The blond felt his heart twinge at those words. A flash of some memories, of an unfortunate time run through his head - he was never someone falling apart. But Sora had been chosen over his own autonomy a long time ago once. Maybe he could relate more to Vanitas than he originally thought. “...I wouldn’t throw you away. Besides, I think you’re a real person, I should kno—”

 

Vanitas suddenly shouted, “—Shut. _Up_!”

 

Then the black-haired boy vanished in a static of darkness that left nothing behind. Roxas just sighed and went into the house, with Xion following him close by.

 

She asked, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

 

Roxas headed to the bathroom, not saying anything, which kind of worried her. She then heard him slam the door shut and sighed as she waited for him to come out.

 

The blond started the shower with little preamble, cleaning up to at least get the sand out of places it shouldn’t be. But also, to calm himself, because he was ultimately frustrated with the other boy—it’s not like he should’ve expected anything different. However, learning that they were more similar than he expected…changed things – he remembered seeing the way Vanitas seemed to integrate with the others today too.

 

Before…he expected little from Vanitas, and honestly, he wasn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart. He wasn’t like Sora or Ventus – his friends came first.

 

So, if it kept Vanitas from harming his friends, doing something as simple as being company didn’t seem so bad. But now, it seemed more than obligation…now he felt himself wanting to get to know him more, to want to help him. He just didn’t know how.

 

When he stepped out of the shower, he was also glad that he’d left a bathrobe in here because he forgot to grab a new change of clothes.

 

…

 

Vanitas found himself stepping right back into the woods – he should’ve known that he wouldn’t fit well into their so-called circle of friends. They didn’t understand what it was like and they knew absolutely _nothing_.

 

And even if it did, did it matter? He was falling apart, without anything to mend his broken heart, and there was nothing he could do about that. Except…except…no, he would hardly be successful in forcing someone’s body to be _his_.

 

It honestly all just made him release a bitter, sharp laugh, and then he plopped himself right onto the grass, calling away his Keyblade at last.

 

At the sound of bushes rustling, Vanitas turned to see someone approaching in a black leather coat, and then this made him quickly stand to his feet. However, seeing the Keyblade pointed at him made the dark-haired boy’s breath catch in his throat. It was familiar, in a most painful sense.

 

Vanitas’ bright, golden irises were wide, and he took a step back, summoning Void Gear into his hand. He asked in trembling voice, “…No…how?”

 

He stepped back again and felt the tree against his back, and then the figure moved – Vanitas supposed he was too distracted to _react_ properly – making it all over in an instant. The Keyblade dropped from Vanitas’ hands, and his golden irises began to glaze over from the Keyblade pressed into his chest. A choked sound escaped him when No Name was twisted in his chest, and the Unversed that escaped him were trying to bring the cloaked figure down in a frenzy but it was no use.

 

Vanitas fell to the ground after the Keyblade was extracted from his chest. The black-cloaked figure slapped away some of the Unversed with the Keyblade, saying, “Man, what an annoyance.”

 

Then, they were gone in a dark portal, leaving the prone boy lying in the grass.

 

…

 

Roxas sighed as he and Xion scoured the town, but still couldn’t find the other male. After washing up, Xion had suggested they at least tried to hunt him down, on account of being worried about whoever may have still been out there. The blond had agreed with her, though he thought Vanitas could handle himself just fine – from what he could tell, the dark-haired male was a rather talented Keyblade Wielder.

 

As the two rounded a corner, he saw something blue and small pop into his view. It looked like something he’s seen before – when he was watching inside Sora during his trip at Monstropolis.

 

He shouted, “An Unversed!”

 

Then, he went to go ahead and followed it when it began to run away – naturally, Xion followed as well. She asked, “Do you think it’ll lead us to him?

 

The blond muttered, “Maybe…”

 

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something _had_ happened after all, but he hoped he was just being paranoid.

 

Before long, the duo found themselves before Vanitas in the forest, lead to where he was by the Unversed. Roxas then said, “C’mon Xion, let’s pick him up.”

 

She nodded, coming over to help the fallen raven-haired boy along with Roxas. The blond then called a dark corridor, and they both hefted Vanitas through it before depositing him on the bed of the room the blond warped them to.

 

The blond began casting some cure magic on him, hoping it’d be enough. Though he really wasn’t the best white magic person. “Maybe I should start stocking up on potions…”

 

Xion pulled out a few hi-potions. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you!”

 

There’s a small pause as Roxas takes some and takes a closer look at Vanitas’ face, which looks ashen, and it’s enough to scare the blond. Then he asks, “Can you go grab some pillows from my room, Xion?”

 

Xion nodded and ran out – once she did, Roxas carefully stepped closer, fingers reaching out to touch a pale cheek. He then leaned close after opening the bottle – desperate times called for desperate measures.

 

…

 

Roxas opened his eyes and rubbed at them, before looking up, lifting his head off the bed he’d fallen asleep on with half of his body, only to spot two golden orbs looking right into his once he did. This made him jump back in surprise, shouting, “Ahh!”

 

Vanitas smirked as he leaned back, watching the blond fall over on himself. “What, scared?”

 

The other blond at once sat up and said, “No way! You just surprised me, that’s all.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

 

The blond looked irritated and moved to grab a pillow off the bed before throwing it at Vanitas, who caught it with an amused look. Then another pillow hit the darkness shitchild in the face.

 

As it fell, Roxas asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

…

 

Xion and Vanitas sat down at the table after Roxas fixed them something to eat. Vanitas asked, “So, ‘Xion’, are you looking to move in with Roxas?”

 

She blinked. “Huh? Um…no.”

 

Vanitas frowned and huffed – she was no fun at **all**. “Stop trying to antagonize people at my table, Vanitas. It’s dumb.”

 

“No, it’s called knowing how to have ‘fun’.”

 

Roxas took a place at the table in between the two. “You wouldn’t know what fun at the dinner table would mean if it hit you in the—”

 

An interruption came by Vanitas flicking bacon onto his face. Then, Roxas flicked some back, before Xion said, “…You two are wasting a lot of food right now.”

 

For her trouble, Vanitas had flicked some bacon bits at her too, which naturally made her flick some of her own back at him. Vanitas smirked and said, “Not so above it after all.”

 

Then, the black-haired male ended up with egg on his eyebrow. Now he remembered the real reason why he wore that helmet.

 

Following breakfast’s mess, Xion headed off to attend to her own business, leaving just the two boys in the house. As the blond was picking up, he said, “You should take a bath.”

 

“Wha—”

 

“—You stink.”

 

Before Vanitas knew it, he was in the bathroom – which looked much nicer than he’d anticipated. It was kind of weird being in an actual one because he’d required to make do on other worlds in lakes or whatnot before, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Roxas didn’t exactly use the room for it’s intended purpose either besides bathing. The blond gave off the presence as something not entirely human, after all.

 

Either way, it shouldn’t be too hard to use.

 

Vanitas called off his darkness suit and began fiddling with the water faucets. He pulled his hand back with a startled hiss when he felt a stinging feeling from the water being too hot, and then adjusted it accordingly to balance the temperature. Then, when he was satisfied with it, he stepped into the warm water, which still made him flinch a little even if it was comfortable. He wasn’t used to taking a bath like _this_.

 

He splashed some water around for a little bit and then heard, “Vanitas, are you managing in there alright?”

 

 _What a worrywart_ , thought Vanitas with an amused smirk. He could handle himself just fine taking a _bath_ of all things. But, for some reason it did feel _nice_ being worried about. No, more than nice – _good_.

 

So, he _lied_. “No.”

 

Vanitas sat there, self-satisfied when Roxas’ footsteps drew near, and the door opened. The blond came closer, and asked, “What did you—”

 

Roxas’ words cut off because water splashes all over him and he stood there looking shocked as his clothes dripped wet. Then, he looked absolutely and positively irritated when he heard a loud bout of unrestrained, hideous laughter from the offending party.

 

In revenge, the blond immediately changed the settings to make the showerhead turn on, drenching Vanitas’ hair. The blond looked smug when he heard a surprised noise escaped the dark-haired boy, and when he shut off the water, Vanitas looked like an angry, wet cat. He even spat out, “You’re such a _kid_.”

 

“Look who’s talking.”

 

Roxas huffed and Vanitas shook his hair a bit, sprinkling some water on the floor and the wall. Then, of course, the dark-haired male had an evil idea and leaned back, shifting so Roxas could see more of his arms and chest, even if they were littered with scars. “So, how about helping with scrubbing me all over?”

 

The blond turned red and ran out. “Do it yourself!”

 

The other boy just laughed, the hardest he had since in forever. Then, he began scrubbing at himself.

 

…

 

Vanitas walked out of the bathroom, only to be hit in the face with clothes and scoffed, “…Really?”

 

Roxas said, “Yeah. You’ve got to be sick of wearing the same thing every day.”

 

The black-haired boy looked boy as he examined the clothing – a black sweatshirt and black pants. “Not really.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah really.”

 

Roxas sighed and then shrugged as Vanitas continued to look at the clothing.

 

Then, the blond headed towards the door. “Do whatever you want, as long as you’re not causing trouble. I’ve got some things to do.”

 

Vanitas noticed the other was in a certain black leather coat and came closer. “Looking for a fight? Take me with you.”

 

Then in the next moment Vanitas saw darkness.

 

When he woke up, the black-haired boy groaned and saw he was in a room he didn’t recognize, as well as in an unfamiliar bed. He sat up quickly, wondering what the hell just happened – he also heard voices right outside the door.

 

“…he’s deteriorating, fast.”

 

Vanitas scoffed – he already knew _that_ , but he didn’t plan on anyone else finding out about it. When he left the room, he saw a slate-haired man talking to Roxas, and a blond-haired man working on something in the background. Roxas turned to face Vanitas and asked, “You knew, didn’t you?”

 

The other just shrugged. “So, what if I did?”

 

Roxas’ lips pressed together into a fine line, and he said, “You should’ve said something.”

 

Vanitas just laughed in his face, which made the blond’s hands clench into tight fists, and then then he turned to face Ienzo, saying, “Something happened last night that I need to talk to you about too.”

 

At that, the black-haired male’s mirth dissipated. And he added, “Xehanort’s back and he tried to kill me.”

 

The blond-haired man in the background knocked over some of his materials and almost fell on his table in surprise, drawing the attention of the other three. Ienzo doesn’t blame him, especially at hearing that, and he even asks, “Are you sure? Everyone had been so sure that he died back there.”

 

Roxas said, “Sora saw ‘Ansem’ supposedly get ‘erased’ by the light, but somehow he worked his magic to bring him along. Anything could happen.”

 

The blond, known as Even now, asked, “But why? He looked completely and utterly peaceful—how’re you so sure it was him and it wasn’t someone else?”

 

Vanitas scoffed. “I couldn’t see the old Master’s face, but he’s the only one who’d have that Keyblade. Unless, I guess, he passed it onto some other apprentice I didn’t know of.”

 

Even scowled and replied, “…Or you could be lying—you _were_ working with him and you’re as full of darkness as a Heartless—”

 

At this, Vanitas fell silent, and then teleported over to stand on the table and summoned Void Gear, making the blond fall back with a cry of surprise. Vanitas smirked and summon it away. “Pathetic. If I wanted to, I’d kill everyone here in an instant.”

 

Roxas rolled his eyes and then faced Even. “He’s just being dramatic—but seriously just shut up with that. He already knows what he is, he doesn’t need to hear it from _you_.”

 

Vanitas at once turned his gaze to fixate it on the small blond, kind of…surprised to hear him say that. Luckily, he had his helmet on, so his expression was masked well enough.

 

Ienzo sighed. “Before we alert the others, we should figure out more if we can.”

 

Roxas said, “I’ll go ahead and do some searching around. If it is Xehanort, I don’t want him ruining our happiness again.”

 

Even huffed as he stood, brushing himself off. “You’ll need someone to go with you. Going alone is suicide, something I see that Sora was so foolishly fond of.”

 

Vanitas sat down on the table, perching his elbow on one of his legs and leaning on his hand with a lazy smirk. “I’ll go. I’m better at recon and having a meatshield is nice.”

 

Roxas fixed him with a look. “Vanitas—”

 

“I’ll do what I want with what I have left. Deal with it.”

 

The blond breathed harshly, not knowing why he was getting so upset. Why did he care so much? Why was he so worried…? Vanitas was good at fighting at least, and yet, he felt his emotions getting ahead of him. He also felt his face getting red as his heart constricted, and he said quickly, “Maybe you’ll have longer if you stopped being such a dumbass…”

 

He walked out of the room and slammed the door shut on the way out, and then Vanitas sat there in silence with the other two, asking, “Don’t tell me it was the meatshield comment?”

 

Ienzo paused and shook his head, making Vanitas give a small ‘tsk’.

 

…

 

Vanitas ran into Roxas when the blond was sitting on the ledge nearby the center of town in Radiant Garden, looking thoughtful. “Worried about me that much? I can handle myself, just ask Ventus or any of his precious, stupid friends – even _Sora_ would know.”

 

“… I want to do something about how much time you have left.”

 

Vanitas leapt over to land in front of the blond, making the other look down on him to face him properly. Then he said, “You can’t save _everyone_ , Roxas.”

 

Before Roxas could say anything, he heard someone clapping and turned to see a certain black-cloaked individual responsible for the action. Vanitas immediately summoned Void Gear and the cloaked person held up their hands. “Woah now, you mad because you got taken out like a weakling?”

 

Vanitas growled, beginning to inch closer and said, “You’re not Master Xehanort, but you had his keyblade; why?”

 

Roxas summoned both Oblivion and Oathkeeper and said, “Xigbar. What’re you up to?”

 

“Uh oh, better get rid of the bigger threat.”

 

Vanitas felt his irritation rise exponentially at that, but…

 

Xigbar teleported over to Roxas and whipped out one of his guns, shooting up close at the blond’s back, forcing said blond to turn around and hold up his keyblades to block it. Then, Vanitas followed in transporting himself to appear over the other man, bringing down Void Gear in a downwards slash.

 

The man then quickly switched out his gun for the Keyblade, No Name, swinging it in a wide arc, forcing Roxas back over the edge when the blond moved backwards to dodge it. Of course, that’s just what he’d planned, as Roxas ended up finding himself falling through a dark portal Xigbar had summoned, which closed rapidly right after.

 

Vanitas growled, but at least his keyblade ended up hitting Xigbar because of him focusing solely on Roxas and made the older man stumble. Vanitas didn’t let up either, kicking him straight into a tree nearby before he could react, and he was there with his inhuman speed, already grabbing Xigbar by his collar seconds after. Then, he began to slam his keyblade straight into him, tearing him literally a new asshole until the cloaked man teleported a place above said tree.

 

The hood had fallen to reveal Xigbar’s face, though he now had a bloody nose. “Brutal as always, huh? ‘Fraid you’re a little too late to—”

 

Xigbar had to move out of the way as Vanitas reappeared right behind him and had to maneuver from another swing mid-air. “You don’t know when to quit, don’t you?”

 

The older male moved to leap onto the ground and warped all the way across the center of town. Vanitas followed, relentless in his pursuit and Xigbar found himself earning a few more bruises for his trouble. “Alright, stop, stop! Don’t you want to find your little friend?”

 

Vanitas hissed, “We’re not friends, _imbecile_.”

 

Vanitas pointed the keyblade right at him and fired off a few explosive fireballs tined with darkness at him, forcing Xigbar to dodge. The black-haired boy used the distraction to come in and swing low, hitting Xigbar in his leg on the left side and making him fall to the ground.

 

Xigbar got up and summon bright up No Name in front of him in a defensive position. “The more you push yourself, the faster you’ll fall apart.”

 

Vanitas snarled, “ _Shut up!_ ”

 

Unversed formed around him as darkness radiated off the black-haired boy and Xigbar stepped back, disappearing into a black portal that closed off before Vanitas could dive right into it. He was absolutely _furious_.

 

He opened a corridor himself and walked right through – when Roxas wasn’t looking, he’d had that Flood who’d led the two to him sneak onto his back and hide in his hood. So, he knew where the blond was enough to just portal over to where he was.

 

It’s so irritating sometimes…none of these light-wielding Keybladers never knew when to be careful enough, and not to mention it was ridiculous.

 

He found himself soon in some weird, dark place with what appeared to be a thousand mirrors and stairs that extended into infinity in a multitude of directions. Roxas was standing in the middle of it all and then turned to face Vanitas. He watched as those blue eyes widened when he saw the other – and he couldn’t help but think it was _cute_ , a thought that Vanitas wished would die as well as never come back again.

 

But, despite it all, Vanitas smirked and subconsciously made his walk a little more…showy than he would normally. He even made the visor dissipate to show his face.

 

Roxas asked, “…You came?”

 

“Duh.”

 

Vanitas watched as the blond’s cheeks glowed softly red for a second before he ducked his head to try to cover a small smile that the black-haired boy just barely caught. But then when the blond looked at Vanitas again, it had dispersed. “Are you able to get us out of here?”

 

A Flood crawled down Roxas’ back and slithered over to Vanitas, and the blond blinked, surprised. Vanitas replied, “No, which explains why you didn’t immediately come back.”

 

The Unversed went up Vanitas’ leg and propped itself right on his shoulder. Vanitas said, “I can control the Unversed just fine, but it looks like any corridor or teleporting out of here business is out of the question.”

 

It frustrated Vanitas; it didn’t help that this placed was filled with a lot of darkness…along with something else he wasn’t very familiar with, but it wasn’t light. He looked over at Roxas after glancing around himself. He didn’t know much about him, but this type of concentration was dangerous for anyone not used to it. Not that he cared much about the blond in the first place—it was just convenient to have him around, that’s all.

 

Vanitas asked, “Feel any different?”

 

The blond blinked and then smiled, realizing why he asked. “Don’t worry, I’m a _Nobody_. We’re closer to the darkness than the light, so I’ll be able to handle it.”

 

Vanitas said derisively, “Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t worried about _you_ …”

 

Roxas snorted, ignoring the crossing of the other’s arms, and said, “Let’s find a way out of here, then.”

 

As the blond moved forward, he walked past the mirrors, and there was nothing in their reflection. But Vanitas could see himself just fine when he’d pass them, and his eyebrows furrowed.

 

The blond took the first set of stairs he saw, and Vanitas followed. As they went on, and breached the set of stairs, they ended up in an area almost filled with darkness surrounding them except for the platform laid out in front of them. It was a stark white color with intricate patterns that seemed to mostly curl into each other but made some triangular shape at the top of the design for a few of them.

 

When the two reached the end of the platform, there was a bright door that appeared right in front of them, and Roxas pulled on the handle, opening it. Rays of light skittered across the area and embraced them.

 

Once the light dissipated, the two found themselves in a familiar and deserted wasteland.

 

Vanitas scoffed – of all the places to be brought to. Well, he was about to not care and see about calling forth a dark portal, but that didn’t work. Then it became clear that something was off, and it made him wonder if they’d ever left the strange space they’d been in before.

 

Then he heard Roxas begin to say, “Vanitas—”

 

However, Roxas’ warning couldn’t have prepared him for what he saw as he turned to see what the blond was looking at to his rear.

 

“Ah, there you are Vanitas. I’ve been looking for you, but seeing where I’m at right now,” the old Master began, hands folded against his back, and continued speaking, “it’s made things…difficult, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

 

Vanitas swallowed thickly. He’d really thought it was over—he never should’ve come. He can feel dread take over as his moments in the real wasteland came over him. Why didn’t he let himself just fade away? Why did he just run instead? At least he’d have met oblivion without anymore suffering but now it was too late.

 

He couldn’t do anything, he could _never_ do anything in the end—he was too useless. Even back then he’d been too weak, and suddenly he’s having a multitude of flashbacks, and—

 

—a hand is placed on his shoulder right as Vanitas almost feels an Unversed or two slip from him, but it’s enough to bring him back to reality, even if he flinched away from it. There was a moment of warmth he missed too, even if he’d never admit to it.

 

He heard Roxas said calmly and evenly, “We can do this.”

 

Vanitas didn’t think so, but he summoned Void Gear silently. He doesn’t know why he’s bothering listening to the blond—it was suicide going up against the Master.

 

Xehanort frowned and asked, “Are you defying me? You do know the consequences, boy…”

 

At that, the black-haired boy hesitated, but Roxas didn’t, taking a chance to strike at the other by moving quickly around Vanitas and swinging at him in an X-like slash with both of his Keyblades. The old man side-stepped and blew back the blond with a powerful, explosive _Dark Firaga_ making Roxas fly across the ground in a messy tumble. Xehanort then turned his attention to Vanitas, about to speak, only to meet with the black-haired boy’s Keyblade to his face, causing him to stumble back.

 

The older man’s eyes narrowed as Vanitas swung at him again, and he blocked the second swing at least. “What did I just say? Your existence is worth nothing other than to f—”

 

Vanitas sneered as he spat out, “—I already know how worthless I am. I don’t need to hear it from you _again_.”

 

Then he disappeared, and reappeared above Xehanort, bringing down Void Gear upon the other and successfully landing a hit, as well as his other follow up strikes. On his last move, Roxas jumped in, slashing Xehanort from behind while Vanitas stabbed him with his Keyblade through the front. The man gasped out, “You are **nothing** , you will always be worth **_nothing_ —**and any dreams of a monster such as you obtaining happiness are impossible…unless it be by your own death…”

 

Roxas shouted, “Shut. UP!”

 

Then, the man faded away, his body fading into pieces of darkness that withered away into oblivion.

 

Vanitas said shakily, “He’s…gone.”

 

Roxas nodded and asserted, “Yeah, he is.”

 

There was a bit of silence that lingered, and Vanitas still stood tense, hand clutched tightly around his Keyblade. The blond said, “…He’s wrong, you know.”

 

Vanitas laughed, it was sudden, harsh, and loud. “Don’t even start. I swear, all of you idiots are the same—you really don’t know _anything._ ”

 

Roxas frowned and took a step towards him, saying, “Vanitas—”

 

Void Gear was suddenly pointing in his direction, preventing the blond from getting any closer—golden irises were narrowed as Vanitas looked at Roxas coldly. “He’s right. I’m nothing but a monster, and nothing I do will ever change that. Seriously, what else could something that’s just darkness end up being?”

 

The blond shook his head. “What other people say you aren’t. I’ve already seen enough to know you’re more than just darkness, nothing, or a monster.”

 

Vanitas snapped, “Just leave me behind. You’ve seen firsthand that I’m a lost cause.”

 

Roxas shook his head and Vanitas said, “I’ll _make_ you leave me, then.”

 

The blond summoned away his keyblades, saying, “Nothing you can do will make me leave!”

 

Vanitas grit his teeth, but before he could strike, Roxas moved, punching him straight in the face. The black-haired male returned it with his own fist, his Keyblade having fallen from his hands—and the two were rolling around on the ground soon enough, before coming to a stop.

 

The black-haired boy got off the blond, summoning Void Gear back to his hand, and then breathed out harshly. “…You know, deep down, there _might_ have been a part of me that never wanted to believe Master Xehanort was right. Even when I wanted to return to Ventus, to become whole, or forge the X-Blade, that part of me hoped that I’d end up being _more_ than half of someone. But, in the end…”

 

The Keyblade in the black-haired boy’s hand began to tremble as the rest of Vanitas did. “In the end…he was right! I’m nothing, I’m worthl—”

 

Roxas began to walk towards him, pushing aside the keyblade and said, “If you’re nothing, then _I’m_ nothing. If you’re half of a person, then I am—except you **know** that’s not true. I don’t know your full story, but I already have been there with someone trying to convince me of both those things before, and they were a liar.”

 

Vanitas growled, “Stand back—!!”

 

The blond ignored him, evidently enough, because his arms reached out to pull the other into an embrace, causing Vanitas to freeze, and then the black-haired boy began to breathe harshly. Anything to keep himself from crying or releasing those monsters, feeling himself immersed in the warmth he was enveloped within as he was overwhelmed with emotion. “I don’t get you…why bother…?”

 

Roxas pulled back a bit, smiling at Vanitas. “Why not?”

 

A silence fell between them as Vanitas allowed himself to be held, though his body refused to stop from being tense. Then, as the blond began to fully pull away, the other male shoved him away, causing Roxas to stumble back.

 

A flash came over the both of them, and when Vanitas opened his eyes, he saw that Roxas was no longer by his side. He looked around and asked, “Where did you—ugh! I swear, I take my eyes off that idiot for a moment…”

 

But it was his fault, wasn’t it? For those actions he made not a mere second ago. He wrestled with himself—why does he care? He doesn’t care—he _can’t_ care!

 

And in the next moment, Vanitas heard a voice that seemed to reach out to his mind.

_You, who have entered one of the realms of the In-Between, have reached the point of exit. But, in time to come…you will find a new challenge from one of you thought to have been best in eons times past._

…

 

Roxas found himself in a grey area with a white floor and heard those words as well, and called out, “Vanitas, where are you?!”

 

_A being of darkness has no place in the light._

The voice now sounded as if it were Vanitas’ being broadcasted through the blond’s head, which further annoyed him. “Give him back. _Now_!”

 

_His life is on borrowed time—so short and only around you does his death become so uncertain. I did you a favor and took him to a place where he’ll surely expire._

Roxas brought out Oathkeeper and Oblivion almost instantaneously. “If you don’t bring him back right here right now, I’m going to find you, and then beat you until there’s nothing left!”

 

_A shame…you’ll just get in the way, then._

 

There appeared a whole slew of doors in front of the blond, and he began to check each one, but not stepping through unless he saw—or felt Vanitas within. Lucky for him, he did spot a certain male within one of the doors, though he was in his helmet, and his back was to him. _Finally_ , the blond thought, and ran out to him.

 

“Vanitas,” Roxas breathed, his hand moving to wrap around the other’s wrist, and he continued, “I found you.”

 

Vanitas turned to face him, and it was hard to tell what expression he was making behind the helmet, but he was sure the other was relieved. “Roxas…I thought I’d lost you.”

 

Then the other pulled the blond closer, and then—

 

Roxas’ body froze as pain exploded from his stomach, and he made a gasp. His blue eyes were on the male in front of him as he asked in a trembling, small voice, “…Why?”

 

The darkly-dressed boy pulled the large, brightly colored Keyblade from out of the blond, which he’d stabbed in from close range after immediately summoning it into his free hand. It wasn’t something the Nobody could predict even if he tried.

 

“You’re too much of a liability to allow to live.”

 

…

 

_Darkness is a burden, and the ultimate source of troubles in all of existence._

 

Vanitas growled, finding that he was making no progress however far he walked in the dark expanse he was trapped within. His body was failing him, and he knew it was a matter of hours instead of days now, but he wasn’t about to die here of all places. He’d prefer it his last moments to be spent… _elsewhere_.

 

Then, the scene shifted to Vanitas shifted standing in a wasteland with Xehanort’s back to him.

 

_Why keep fighting when your strength is leaving you?_

 

“ **Shut up**. Don’t lecture me on what I already know! Where is Roxas?”

 

_Oh?_

 

Vanitas swung Void Gear through the illusion of Xehanort. It didn’t feel great, but he knew he was at least capable of kicking someone’s ass one last time if he had to. The image also distorted on contact and both it along with the scenery faded into darkness.

 

_It looks like I underestimated you and the strength of your bond with the Nobody._

Vanitas scowled as he said, “I don’t care if he dies—it’d merely be annoying if you’re the one who caused it.”

 

_You don’t…or do you?_

 

The black-haired male felt as if his heart had stopped—or what was left of it. The darkness immediately disperses, giving way to a grey area with a stark wait floor.

 

He saw what appeared to be himself standing with Roxas hunched against him and—

 

Vanitas’ eyes widened as he spotted the Keyblade running through the blond’s back, which is pulled out, allowing Roxas to further slump against the other version of himself. When the other allows the blond to then fall backwards, only then stepped by his double’s arm being held out, Vanitas felt something within him _shatter_.

 

At the idea of Roxas being possibly severely hurt—or worse—his emotions ran ahead of him, enveloping the whole area in darkness as Vanitas took a single step.

 

Vanitas clashed with his double, and unfortunately every strike he unleashes is met with an equal force, which further incites a rage in him he didn’t think he was capable of expressing. A great many Unversed were spawned, something that his double seemed incapable or wanting nothing to do with as he was. Not that it mattered, since it didn’t slow his mirror image done, but on the other hand, Vanitas felt his limbs ache with fatigue not borne of this battle—but one that was all encompassing and it had finally decided to catch up with him.

 

“What’s wrong, can’t keep up?”

 

Vanitas grit his teeth, teleporting behind his double, swinging Void Gear only to see it met with the X-Blade. The other took off his helmet, revealing blond hair and bright, golden eyes—the sight of which made Vanitas both falter and rekindled his anger. “This could’ve been you. But you _had_ to get yourself killed because you were _such_ a failure and weak!”

 

The black-haired boy snarled, opting not to respond because he couldn’t refute that. He kept swinging Void Gear, slamming it against the other’s Keyblade, so blinded by anger that he didn’t notice the smirk on the blond’s lips. “Or maybe you really were fine with being replaced by something that didn’t have memories…ha! That’s rich.

 

No one would really know that it was you all along—that **you** were the **real** Ventus.”

 

Vanitas fired off an explosive Dark Firaga, making the other stumble back, stopping nearby Roxas’ prone body. The black-haired boy spoke, his words sounding sardonic but less so because of the anger that gripped them, “Just _keep_ running your mouth, I’m sure that’ll do wonders for your competency in battle.”

 

His other self looked just amused and said, “So you can hit me after all.”

 

They clashed again, only for the blond to step back and then pull Roxas up, one hand unzipping the front of the Nobody’s coat, exposing his chest a little. But then his double’s hand moved to have the X-Blade underneath the Nobody’s chin. “Clearly all _this_ thing’s been doing is just holding you back. Let me do you a favor and cut loose what’s been chaining you down!”

 

Vanitas moved, but he knew he was going to be too late as the other had moved at the same time—

 

“ ** _NO!_** ”

 

The black-haired boy’s sudden scream made his double stop in surprise, leaving in opening for Vanitas to grab the X-Blade and tear Roxas out of his grip. In the next moment, he brought Void Gear down after releasing the Keyblade, and his target stumbled when it hit. Again, and again, Vanitas didn’t let down, still able to move as quickly as he could with his weapon in one hand. His efforts finally brought down his enemy to the ground, and he made sure to finish him with a downwards pierce of his dark Keyblade, making him cry out in pain.

 

Vanitas was left a panting mess, the efforts not easy when he had an unconscious blond over his shoulders. But he saw a face that mirrored the blond’s look up at him, a pained expression that eased into a vaguely amused one. “So, you _do_ care after all.”

 

“…Shut up, I don’t, I—”

 

“—Oh, stop it. Who the hell are you kidding? Besides…I’d know—this world you’re in is a world of the In-Between but is designed to reflect everyone’s desires and consume them. I know what you **really** want…”

 

Vanitas felt his eye twitch, and the other began to fade away. “…There’s one way to save that Nobody of yours—an act of true love will bring the light to his eyes. So, get on it.”

 

He sneered, saying, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

 

But, once that figure faded away in front of him, Vanitas watched as his surroundings cracked and splintered, before falling into a myriad pieces, and then a bright light came over him. When he opened his eyes, he saw he was in Radiant Garden, and looked over at Roxas, who was lying on the ground near him.

 

…

 

 

_“Did you do anything to him? If you did…I won’t forgive you.”_

_“It doesn’t look like he’s going to be waking up anytime soon but thank you for telling us about what happened.”_

_“Just stay away from us or anyone! I don’t believe you…you’re just a **monster** who ruins everything it touches.”_

Evidently, the meeting with the others went unwell, enough that Vanitas had left in a dark portal before any scathing remarks could be made. He knew he was a fool to try to get **their** help, most of them had just thought it was **his** fault—he ignored any callings for his name by Ventus or Sora too. It wasn’t worth involving them further with his nonsense.

 

Still, maybe they could manage to do something he could never.

 

He couldn’t help…he couldn’t love—

 

He…

 

What could he do? He was slated to fall apart into the darkness as nothing soon. So…why bother…?

 

…

 

“Vanitas!”

 

When a female’s voice called out to him, Vanitas had to admit, he was surprised.

 

The black-haired male had been sitting on top of a building in Twilight Town, ostensibly ignoring some of the others’ threats not to venture on even the world _near_ Roxas because he didn’t give a shit. He had a right to die where he wanted to and that was that.

 

Still, he didn’t expect anyone to approach him if he did nothing, but as always, his expectations were always defied. The black-haired girl had leapt onto the building, and he supposed she’d been looking for him, at least enough for him to be caught by her. “What, did Venty-Wenty and Sora send you to find me?”

 

Xion shook her head, saying, “I know you’ve been avoiding them, but I came here on my own because we’re friends. And I…I—”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and said, “—oh brother. Just stop while you’re ahead.

 

We’re not _friends_ , we’re NOT _allies_ , we’re not **anything** other than enemies, and don’t you dare forget that!”

 

She completely ignored all of that much to Vanitas’ irritance, and said, “I know you want to help Roxas…and—and he’s been getting worse!”

 

“I don’t care. Let him die.”

 

She then puffed up her cheeks and stomped over to him, making Vanitas smirk lazily. Oh, this will be good…

 

Then her expression deflated as she said, “…Even Sora or Axel couldn’t do anything for him. And…and when I was alone in his room, he said _your_ name. I think…he’s looking for you, Vanitas.”

 

Vanitas’ eyes widened and he thought, _But why me? I…_

But…then something clicked. Roxas’ last memory before falling into unconsciousness was seeing **him** – or what _he_ thought was him – shove that damnable Keyblade through him. Maybe, he—

 

Xion looked sad as she said, “Maybe…he thought you hated him. So, the reason why he’s like that is because he’s about to die from a broken heart.”

 

She took pause and added, “…I think he loved you, Vanitas, and he didn’t even know it.”

 

…

 

Vanitas heard from Xion that it was her turn to be watching over the blond but that she’d leave the entire house to the both of them for the black-haired male to do what he needed to do. He didn’t understand why she thought she needed to _leave_ , but he didn’t care – less chance of her getting exposed to something idiotic and the last thing he needed before he died was someone having that knowledge.

 

He looked at his hand and could see streams of darkness pulling away from it.

 

It was now or never, he guessed.

 

The black-haired male stepped forward towards the blond-haired male resting on his bed, atop of his sheets, still in that black coat of his. Maybe people just felt uncomfortable undressing and redressing him in his normal wear – which anyone should’ve, anyway.

 

Vanitas muttered to himself, “This seems stupidly familiar.”

 

He then crawled atop of the bed and shook him, saying, “Wake up, idiot. You called for me, and now I’m here.”

 

Nothing happened and he shook Roxas harder, yelling at him to open his eyes, but then he grit his teeth. Of course, it wouldn’t be simple. “…I don’t hate you. You’re less irritating than the rest, so get it through that thick skull of yours!”

 

He breathed heavily, frustrating continuing to mount in him as the blond didn’t even so much as stir. What the hell is someone like him supposed to do with this? Why couldn’t any of his friends do anything?! Why were _they_ useless at a time like this?

 

He couldn’t do anything—his frustration begin to leak out as his view became blurry. A Hareraiser formed at the side of the bed, and Vanitas’ shoulders slumped.

 

He then leaned forward, lips softly pressing against Roxas’ as his eyes closed. He was about to disappear, and no one would see him do this anyway.

 

…

 

A light exploded right in front of Vanitas’ eyes and he moved back, in surprise, but then saw that bright light surrounding Roxas escape in rays that seemed to shoot straight into the black-haired boy, who gasped as they entered his body. Almost every single crack in his heart seemed to be filled, intermingling light and darkness within him, soothing some of the pain that resulted from his heart existing as mere fragments. It caused a warm sensation to spread throughout his entire body, including pooling down to his lower stomach, and—

 

Vanitas gasped, lurching forward, hands landing in the blankets on either side of Roxas, and when they did, fingers curled into the fabric as his body shook from the sensation that began to cause his mind to haze over. He…needed something.

 

He _needed_ Roxas.

 

Then, his golden eyes looked down to see blue eyes looking calmly up at him, and the blond reached out to grab his face with his own hands before pulling him into a sweet kiss. Naturally, Vanitas returned the kiss hard, slipping his tongue into the blond’s parted lips, and hearing his pleased groan continued to wash away the thoughts in the black-haired male’s head.

 

Vanitas reached out to pull the zipper down Roxas’ front, exposing his chest with ease, and moving his hands over the blond’s now bare chest.

 

Wisps of darkness exuded from Vanitas, some wrapping around Roxas’ legs as they crawled up them, until they managed to slip inside of his pants as well as the boxers underneath them before finding what they were searching for, slipping into the blond’s hole with ease. This made the blond moan helplessly into the kiss, body arching as Vanitas’ fingers rubbed over hardening nipples. When he finally pulled away, Vanitas licked his lips as a trail of saliva slid down Roxas’ lip, and he moved to press kisses gently along the other’s neck, savoring the whimpers from the blond’s trembling lips.

 

Vanitas’ words felt hot against Roxas’ neck as he said, “You wanted all of me, didn’t you? So, all of me you’ll _get_ ,” And at that last word, the tendrils of darkness pushed further inside of Roxas, a cry escaping the blond when it did—he was beginning to writhe as it felt so warm and _hot_ inside of him. The dark wisps’ form solidified some more before they began to thrust in and out of the blond, who let out a weak moan as it did. Vanitas then began to suck all along the blond’s neck, before biting down hard on one point, making the blond gasp, his body arching up.

 

Drool continued to slip down Roxas’ lips as Vanitas’ hands touched him all over while the darkness inside of him continued to spread him and start a punishing rhythm, making pleasure run all along his body when the blond was sure it’d hurt. “A-aah…V-Vani…tas…”

 

Vanitas reached a hand to grab a hold of the bulge pressing against the blond’s pants, and smirked as he listened to Roxas pant desperately when he squeezed him. Roxas could feel his mind swimming, and he knew he wasn’t going to last longer with the pleasure rising in him so quickly that he couldn’t reason anything. Vanitas moved to lick the blond’s ear, one hand palming him through his pants as another squeezed one of his nipples. His actions overwhelmed the blond, who was whimpering and bucking his hips eagerly. “You’re reaching the end of your rope, aren’t you? Just do it already, _Roxas_.”

 

Roxas moaned deeply as he came _hard_ in his pants, and he panted a little, looking at Vanitas, whose eyes were still glazed over with _want_.

 

The darkness drew out of the blond and Vanitas easily pulled Roxas’ pants down to his ankles, with little protest from him, followed by his soiled underwear. Vanitas panted out, shaking hands undoing his belt before easily grabbing his own cock out and directing it to the other’s hole. The black-haired male then thrust in, moaning out, “Together…we’ll…become **_one_**!”

 

Roxas felt an explosion of pain that became immediately eclipsed by pleasure, his cock becoming painfully hard as Vanitas rocked in and out of him. He couldn’t think, it _felt so good_ , and he felt the other’s length move deeper inside of him each time he thrusted in, caressing his insides in a way that shot up an intense amount of pleasure all throughout his entire body. His blue eyes glaze over with pleasure and a bit of saliva ran down to a bit below his chin, moans escaping the blond who felt himself losing to the sensations running through him again.

 

Vanitas on the other hand found himself panting hard, the heat wrapped around his cock felt unbelievably phenomenal, and he groaned as he sped up the pace, wanting to find release _badly_. He leaned over to kiss the blond _hard_ , his own moans escaping into Roxas’ mouth as their tongues met in another intense make out session, and one hand moved to grab the other’s hip to pull the blond forward as he fucked into him. He muffled one of the blond’s particularly louder moans, and he swung his free hand to grab a hold of Roxas’ wet, hard cock.

 

Roxas cried out at the touch, unable to properly continue the kiss as he was assaulted on both fronts, and then another cry escaped him as his vision exploded in stars, feeling Vanitas’ cock pound into his prostate. ” _V-Vani…aaah—mmm! Aaah_! _”_

Vanitas moved back, his golden eyes watching Roxas’ depraved expression closely, a lazy grin as he sped up in his thrusts with ease, making stars come into the blond’s vision.

 

Then he felt the Roxas clamp down on him, releasing a pleasured cry of Vanitas’ name as his orgasm washed over him, spurting white cum on his stomach as well as his chest. The black-haired male followed, a bit of drool dripping down his lips as he shuddered with a gasp, pumping the blond full of his release, and then he slipped right out, panting.

 

He looked down at Roxas, whose face was flushed, and eyes were still glazed over. Vanitas smirked as he asked, “You want more, don’t you? You’re greedier then I thought.”

 

His hand went down to grab the other’s half-hard cock and his fingers slipped into Roxas’ wet entrance with ease.

 

Roxas barely remembered what happened after that, except that he must have found his release more than a couple of times, and one instance, screaming in pleasure before his vision whited out completely.

 

…

 

Roxas opened his eyes, forcing himself to sit up in his bed, only to spot Vanitas lying beside him in the covers, and for the first time, completely undressed. He felt his face flush a deep crimson. “…Vanitas?”

 

He felt his heart pounding. Last night wasn’t a dream?

 

Vanitas stirred, and sat up, putting into full view more of him as the covers shifted a little. “Yeah, what?”

 

Roxas had to make sure what occurred was real. It was his first time, but he didn’t feel any regrets. Still, he asked, “What…happened last night?”

 

The black-haired male barely knew himself…but it was good, and he knew both of them enjoyed it, so he acted like it was ‘just as planned’, and snorted. “What do you think?”

 

The blond tried to chase away the fuzz in his head and said, “Then, we’re…dating now. Aren’t we?”

 

The black-haired boy snorted and asked, “Are we?”

 

Roxas begin to grit his teeth, his hands balling into fists. “Vanitas—”

 

Vanitas put a finger on the other’s lips, a lazy smirk on his face as he said, “—You’re so _easy_ to tease. Of course, it meant _something_ to me. Question is if you’re sure about having me when you can probably have someone else better.”

 

The blond stared at him like he was an idiot. “There is no better choice because I don’t _want_ anyone else. I want _you_.”

 

The black-haired male felt a blush creeping along his cheeks. He then said, “I could be just using you, it might not work out.”

 

Roxas sighed and moved to pull him into an embrace as he asked, “So what if it doesn’t? And if you _are_ using me, I’ll kick your ass.”

 

Vanitas said nothing, smirking, but when the blond looked away to rest his head on his shoulder, his arms went to wrap around Roxas’ waist. He wouldn’t do that—after all, it looks like thanks to him he wouldn’t be meeting his end anytime soon.

 

And even _he’s_ not that ungrateful. Besides, he can (grudgingly) admit to himself that he’s kind of cute, even if his face is similar to Ventus’. They were fundamentally different.

 

Though…Vanitas remembered what happened before he saw Roxas. How Xion had to convince him at all, and something landed in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t like the feeling at all, and a hand reached to comb through the hair of the blond.

 

They had a long way to go, but it was a start.


	2. Follow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annnd the second chapter! Basically mostly just some fluff, but hope y'all had fun reading. c:

Darkness filtered into the room, with only a few strays of light peeking through – it was dusty and old from disuse, but still available for someone to walk in, and so someone did by a portal of darkness. It revealed a man in a black, leather coat, who did a little bit of stretching. “Well, looks like there’s a lot needed to be done here. Time to tidy up.”

 

At least the conclusion of that little scuffle he’d had with those kids didn’t go as bad as he’d thought, among other things.

 

And then a book fell on his head, before hitting the floor, stirring up dust bunnies that made Xigbar – no, Luxu – go into a very unattractive coughing fit.

 

…

 

“A…bakery?”

 

Roxas nodded, as he put on a nice, white shirt and black pants. To complete the set, the blond added on a small, black bowtie. It was – dare Vanitas say it – _cute_. “I set it up awhile ago, but today’s the day I planned on opening it, so I’m going to be heading over to there now.”

 

Vanitas smirked. “I get anything I want for free?”

 

“Didn’t you already eat for the day?”

 

The black-haired boy frowned, his face pulling – that made Roxas stop and blink. Was he… _pouting_?

 

Then, Vanitas said, “Ever since that night, I’ve needed to at least eat a little more.”

 

Roxas laughed a little and was shoved for his trouble as he saw red tint Vanitas’ cheeks – apparently he was embarrassed to even admit his interest in sweets. Then, the blond smiled and said, “You get a few free ones, but I need to run a business, so it can’t be too many. If you want more, I could cook some more up when we come home.

 

Anyway…follow me.”

 

Vanitas silently followed Roxas straight out of the house, and once the blond stopped, his company saw that it lead him to a quaint little place to the north side of town. Roxas then faced Vanitas and said, “It might be a little hard at first because that Bistro is here, but I wanted to try.”

 

Vanitas looked over at the building. It didn’t look all that bad, though he snorted at the name – _Roxy’s Bakery_. “You’ll overcome it with the ‘power of friendship’, I imagine.”

 

“That’s not how it works.”

 

Vanitas did a lazy hand gesture and replied, “The power of ‘love’, then, or something stupid like that.”

 

Roxas rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. “I’m glad you have a lot of faith in me, but—”

 

“—But what?”

 

The blond looked back at Vanitas, who had his arms crossed, looking impatient more than anything, but it just only caused Roxas to smile to himself. He started to get why the other was saying those things, and Roxas said, “Well, maybe you’re right. It’ll probably be something like that, and with some honest, hard work.”

 

The other male didn’t say anything in response, but as Roxas went into the kitchen, putting on an apron, he said, “You’re so sweet sometimes, you know that?”

 

“I’m not—!!”

 

The sound of Roxas’ light, short, but genuine laughter cut Vanitas off, who felt something in his chest constrict and then his heart skipping a beat. It was such a beautiful sound – though he huffed and moved to lean against a wall, asking, “How’re you going to serve so many people?”

 

“With my help,” came a certain black-haired girl’s voice, and Vanitas turned to see Xion come right into the store, wearing a nice black blouse and short, black dress pants with a black bow in her hair. She didn’t look half-bad, but naturally Vanitas thought Roxas looked the _best_ in formal wear.

 

She then smiled softly at him as she headed into the kitchen too, and he asked, “That’s it?”

 

Roxas’ voice came out from the kitchen. “If you want to help out, you can work the front. I can show you how.”

 

“And why would I want to do that?”

 

Roxas said, “Because you’d get some of the sweets here faster if you helped, you bum.”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “ _Fine_.”

 

“Oh, and you can’t wear your darkness suit while you’re helping customers.”

 

The black-haired boy scowled and thought long and hard about defying that, but it was whatever. The darkness shifted so he was wearing a tight black shirt with black gloves and loose black pants, along with red boots. “What about now?”

 

Roxas peeked his head out of the kitchen to see Vanitas in his new wardrobe, and blinked as his eyes lingered on his tight shirt a little longer than he knew was socially acceptable. Naturally, that made Vanitas smirk, taking the chance to strike a pose. “I’ll take that as good enough.”

 

Roxas blushed and said, “…Just try to keep up with what I’ll be teaching you.”

 

He then showed Vanitas how to use the register and took out some desserts alongside Xion. Vanitas asked, “Which one of these tastes the _least_ sweet?”

 

Xion replied, “Bread, probably. Banana bread and some croissants.”

 

Vanitas picked up one of the croissants, biting into it and soon it was gone. “Who made this?”

 

Roxas had begun to head back, but stopped. “That one was made by me—"

 

The black-haired boy stepped over and pulled him into a kiss—the blond returned it, arms wrapping around the other’s waist. The kiss was slow and sweet; despite what’d happened a few days ago, Vanitas can’t claim to have _magic_ to guide him this time. It was the same for Roxas, but perhaps they liked it that way, as they seemed to forget where they were, and Vanitas’ arms moved to encircle the blond as well as the kiss deepened.

 

The sudden ringing bells made them pull away, leaving the two red in the face and catching their breaths.

 

The current visitors were a certain red head and a blue-haired man. Both of whom looked varying degrees of amused—Lea even said, “What’d I say? Peas in a pod.”

 

Looks like they hadn’t pulled away fast enough. Roxas’ blush intensified at the same time as the black-haired boy’s, who looked away, crossing his arms. The latter of the two spat, “Take a picture—it’ll _last_ longer.”

 

Isa shook his head. “I could care less. We’re only here to buy some of those desserts, seeing as Lea couldn’t stop bringing up that today the shop opened…”

 

Roxas huffed and said, “Because he has a big mouth he can’t keep shut all the time.”

 

The red head mocked an offended expression, asking, “Wow, who hurt you?”

 

Then, Lea plucked a few desserts and purchased them, swinging an arm around Isa’s waist. “Later, lovebirds.”

 

The red head also mouthed to Vanitas, _We’re talking later. Just you and me_ , and then the two had walked out in the blink of an eye. Vanitas simply rolled his eyes.

 

Xion peeked her head out of the kitchen and said, “Roxas can you stop getting all kissy with Vanitas for a moment and help me out over here?”

 

Roxas pulled away from Vanitas and said, “Oh, sorry!”

 

He couldn’t help it—Vanitas started it! And even if it he didn’t, he was so kissable. He made sure to hurry back into the kitchen before Xion really turned up the heat, though.

 

…

 

Xion and Roxas needed to step out of the bakery for a short few minutes to get some needed ingredients, leaving Vanitas to watch the store. The black-haired boy told them that he could handle a full fifteen minutes by himself, really. Working the register wasn’t rocket science, and even though he wasn’t going to admit it, part of him was eager to actually _help_ Roxas.

 

Roxas ended up kissing his cheek on the way out, so that was another plus.

 

Vanitas got through a few customers surprisingly well. He was just casual about it, and no one had a fit. Maybe that’s what was nice about this town…people knew how to behave themselves.

 

Speak of the devil, though, a man with blond hair and in a dark-colored beanie walked in. He asked, “This is that chicken wuss’ place, isn’t it?”

 

Vanitas rose a brow and asked, “Who the hell is ‘chicken wuss’?”

 

“You know, that kid who thinks he’s something when he isn’t really much of anythin—”

 

 _That_ made Vanitas say interrupt a deceptively calm and cool voice, “—If you don’t want me to bash your head in, buy what you need, and leave. I won’t be warning you twice.”

 

The insufferable blond smirked and said, “Like you would.

 

Why even help him run this place? An outsider like him’s never going to find a place to bel—”

 

Vanitas didn’t think the guy was much worth his time, but if he wanted to (insult Roxas) call his bluff, let it be on his own head. And well, he was sure that he regretted it when in a flash he was picking himself off the floor due to Vanitas appearing in front of him before landing a good hit in the gut that brought him to his knees. He at least seemed rather built but it was no match for the training _he_ endured.

 

His hand shot out to grasp a hold of the blond’s neck and he began to increase his grip mercilessly on it. He ignored the sounds of the other’s struggles and the pulling at his hand did nothing to relieve the pressure. His suffering was music to his ears.

 

The door slammed open to reveal a brunet who shouted, “Vanitas! What’re you doing?!”

 

“…Tch.”

 

Vanitas let go, letting the blond fall motionless to the ground—the brunet’s companion, a certain white-haired male went to check on the fallen blond, but not before throwing him a look of disappointment.

 

…

 

Roxas sighed as he fixed the sign from OPEN to CLOSED on the inside of the building, and then turned to look at Vanitas, whose arms were crossed. The latter of the two was also staring very hard at one of the small plants Xion had decided to place at the counter. “…Vanitas, I heard what’d happened. But, I wanted to hear it from you—why’d you go ahead and do that to Seifer?”

 

Vanitas looked back at him and said, “I don’t need a reason to cause trouble. He was just _asking_ for it just by being here.”

 

The small blond frowned. “Vanitas, you can’t just—”

 

He sighed, and then asked, “How about you tell me why you really did that? You don’t just go around causing trouble for no reason.”

 

The other male tensed and his fingers dug tighter into his arms, causing Roxas to draw near, and place a hand on one of his arms. He looked up at him, soft blue eyes appearing pleading, and finally Vanitas sighed. He muttered something to him, a blush coming to his cheeks, and Roxas smiled. “See? Was that so hard?”

 

“…Ugh. Shut up.”

 

Roxas kissed his cheek, making the blush intensify, and then the blond’s soft expression turned a little more serious. “Don’t do it again if you can avoid it, okay? I don’t mind that blowhard getting what’s coming to him, but we’ve done enough butting heads around places. I’m grateful that you stuck up for me, though.”

 

Vanitas spat, “Whatever. Don’t expect too much from me—it was a herculean urge to not throttle him on the spot until he stopped breathing.”

 

The blond had the tiny frown back on his face again, and for some reason that made Vanitas ground out, “But, I’ll try not to kill everyone who decides to badmouth you or do something unbelievably stupid. I just can’t promise no broken bones.”

 

Roxas sighed. “Well, I don’t want anyone to get hurt either, but if you can’t help it…”

 

Vanitas smirked. “…and ONLY if you can’t help it…”

 

“I don’t know, if anyone starts saying you deserve to die I might ‘accidentally’ break their legs.”

 

“…Okay, I don’t think I’d mind if you did if something like that happened.”

 

Xion walked in on hearing that, and said, “Roxas! I thought you were supposed to be the good influence here.”

 

Roxas sported an innocent look and then stuck out his tongue a little. He said, “Anyway…you’re lucky Seifer thought it was a dream, but next time we might not be so lucky. I could’ve gotten into trouble too, you know.”

 

Vanitas smirked and said, “No, you wouldn't have. I'd have thought of something.”

 

The blond frowned and then pulled on the other's cheek, getting the black-haired male to slap at it. “Stop it, you're going to embarrass me.”

 

“That's the point. Now wait here, I need to help Xion close up...”

 

Vanitas watched the blond follow Xion, his lips curved upwards still, but then they started to fall downwards into a frown and he looked away.

 

…

 

The three were heading out of the bakery when Roxas said suddenly, “...Besides all of that with Seifer, I'm glad you tried to help out anyway.”

 

He kisses Vanitas' cheek quickly and Xion also smiled, saying, “Yes, thank you.”

 

The two watched the other male blush and he just said, “Whatever.”

 

The blond then gestured for them to follow. “Hey, let's go to the clocktower today.”

 

As they all made their way there, Roxas whispered to Xion, “Did you bring them?”

 

She made sure to whisper back, “Sure did!”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “You're not good at being subtle, are you?”

 

Roxas gave a shrug. “You still don't know what it is.”

 

...Lucky for him, Vanitas supposed the blond had him there, and when the trio arrived, it was clearly well into the afternoon, with the sun already having begun to set. The afternoon rays filtered all across the tops of the houses and around to the front of the clocktower, but not overtly so, making it a prime place for those gathering there at the moment.

 

Vanitas took his seat when the other two did, and blinked when he was handed a certain stick of ice cream. He hummed to himself as he looked at it, holding it out in front of him. “Trying to make a sweet lover out of me?”

 

As Vanitas took the ice cream, Roxas smiled and said, “Don't need to—I already have.”

 

Vanitas opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind, so he summarily closed it, and Xion just laughed. The black-haired male felt embarrassment stir within himself as he muttered, “Smartass.”

 

As he ate the ice cream, he decided that maybe trying it again wasn't too much of a bad idea. Though, it made him think of the beach, and the others...and of Ventus. He frowned, looking at it again, and said, “Doesn't taste too bad.”

 

Xion said, “So I guess this means you do like it after all.”

 

“...”

 

Roxas looked ahead and said, “I'm grateful we got to know each other better—even if there's probably still some more to go.”

 

“One day you might regret it.”

 

The blond smiled and said, “Not a chance.”

 

Vanitas turned to face Roxas, taking in the serene image of the blond's smile, which had a soft brightness to it which made it difficult for him to look away. He wondered if Roxas' words would wind up as true after all, but maybe he's hesitant to believe them even still. Even after all that's happened, because...having good things were still a new concept to him.

 

He had to hope he wouldn't just ruin it all.

 

…

 

Roxas had been fixing some food for the two to eat, and Vanitas had silently joined him in trying to help. Both of them had made it somewhat of a still lively activity, nudging, poking, and kissing each other at certain points in a form of their teasing. When they were done, Roxas had smiled and told Vanitas that they worked well together, and honestly...in the past, the black-haired male would've found the idea insufferable – of a couple living out a life like this. But, Vanitas felt happy, and sometimes he would almost smile, an expression only slightly different from his smirks or sharp grins.

 

All the same, there was this strange feeling in his chest. Was it from what'd happened when he gave Roxas that kiss...? Everything had happened so fast, really, was so unsure of it all?

 

No, that didn't feel right. But something was bothering him, even if he couldn't put his finger on it.

 

After dinner, he went to the bathroom to wash up. When he chanced a look at the mirror, for a split second he saw himself with blond hair and yellow eyes. A blink however made the image go away and he saw himself with black hair. He frowned.

 

Vanitas left the bathroom, and for once had on what was defined as regular clothing. A loose black shirt and gray pants. Well, he still had on those red boots of his, so maybe not all regular wear. He said to Roxas, who was cleaning up the dishes, “I'm going out.”

 

Roxas turned to face him, and then reached into his pocket.

 

Suddenly, the other male had caught a little black phone, but he had no clue of what it was. “...What's this?”

 

“It's a phone; you can use it to contact people far away without having to teleport to them. I'll show you how to use it more later.”

 

Vanitas opened his mouth and asked, “Why?”

 

The blond blinked. “Why what?”

 

His hands closed around the object more firmly. “...Why did you give me one?”

 

Roxas frowned and seemed to consider Vanitas' words carefully. “Because I think you should have one. If either of us are apart and want to talk to each other when we're far away or need to reach out when we are...this is a good way to do it.”

 

Vanitas nodded and then pocketed it. He turned away and he heard Roxas ask, “Did you think you didn't deserve to have one?”

 

“...”

 

“Vanitas—“

 

“—Even though I saved you, it was Xion who convinced me to go to you in the first place. I almost just let you die. Funny, isn't it?”

 

The blond came closer to Vanitas, but the other said, “ _Stop_. I don't want to be comforted over this—it's _your_ life I nearly threw away. And yet, here we are. Have you ever thought about how weird it was? How...too neatly all of this fit together?”

 

Roxas asked, “What do you mean?”

 

Vanitas scoffed and replied, “That 'Xigbar' pushed us into some other dimension where some twisted nonsense happened, and then it turned out that what could only wake you up was me kissing you. It...solved the problem of bringing my heart together somehow, with your heart's light lining up the pieces too neatly, and now _nothing hurts_. But, why? Why would he do that? What's he planning...?”

 

The blond fell quiet for a moment and then he said, “I don't know. But, I've thought about it--”

  
“Have you? How can you say you really feel anything for me and any of it is even real?”

 

There was a sudden silence as the blond's eyes widened and his hands clenched tightly into fists. “Vanitas, what're you even saying...?”

 

“...I'm _asking_ how do you know that they're not _fake_ \--”

 

“I _KNOW_ what I'm feeling! I know-I know it's real!”

 

Roxas squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears about to emerge. It hurt, hearing Vanitas say that all of a sudden – that his feelings might be fake. He's heard so many people say Nobodies can't feel and they fake it, so hearing this now is...it hurts so much. Maybe even more than Vanitas could ever realize. “I love you, okay?! I don't love anyone else like this!

 

It's the first time I've ever felt like this towards anyone else, and...and I know I'm not experienced but I know what I feel! It's not fake! I don't care if that jerk was involved, because I felt this way before we were sent to that place!

 

I like holding your hand, I like hugging you, and kissing you, I like being near you – I don't care about what anyone says about you, there's no one else I feel this way towards, and nothing's going to stop me from feeling that way!”

 

Before Vanitas could say anything, Roxas stepped towards him, and caught his lips in a kiss that was rougher than any he'd ever received from the other. The Nobody's hands were gripping tight onto the black-haired boy's clothing, digging into the shoulders, and Vanitas returned the kiss, his hands moving to encircle the other's waist. When the blond pulled away he said softly, “If you don't feel the same anymore, that's different,” and then as he spoke, his voice rose again, “But don't you DARE try to say none of my feelings aren't real! Got it?!

 

Whatever's going on with what happened...we'll figure it out. Ienzo's looking into it right now, so...let's just enjoy the peace while we still can.”

 

For once Vanitas looked sufficiently admonished, and he said, “...Looks like I messed up, didn't I?”

 

Roxas smiled a little and said, “Yeah, you did, idiot.”

 

“What'd you just call me?!”

 

“You have to make it up to me now, you know. “

 

Vanitas sighed and said, “Fine...whatever.”

 

It was a reasonable request. He had an exponentially difficult time still saying a direct apology and if he was being given the chance after saying that without thinking _too_ hard on it, without even realizing that the others had been working on it (but of course they would after what'd happened to Roxas, it was common sense.) He really does feel like an idiot...and maybe even ungrateful – he clearly didn't know what he was doing in terms of keeping relationships together.

 

He supposed that it wasn't just Roxas who was inexperienced, even if he didn't want to admit to that. Being inexperienced in anything was a sign of weakness. He had to do better.

 

Roxas pulled away and said, “If you're still going, just be careful. Maybe...I should send some company after you like you did with me.”

 

Vanitas scoffed. “I'll be _fine_. If anything tries to kill me, I'll get rid of it.

 

I'm just meeting up with one of your friends. He's probably worried that you're dating someone like me—”

 

Roxas interrupted, “—Someone who isn't just darkness anymore, right? Because I know you're not going to say something like that after what'd just happened...”

 

At that, the black-haired male could only roll his eyes. The blond could win a reward for the universe's most stubborn if he put his mind to it. “Not what I was going to say. I still have a oh-so-wonderful history that you've seemed to have forgotten...or I imagine the others hardly told you anything of it.”

 

The blond shook his head and replied, “No, I already know. But, if anyone's too hard on you, I won't forgive them. You're trying your best now that all of _that_ is over.”

 

Vanitas could only snort and think, _Am I? I STILL could care less about what'd happen to those idiots. The only thing that's changed is that somehow I've gotten a fully functioning heart...it's still_ _**mostly** _ _darkness, with such little light._

 

But whatever, he kept his mouth shut for now. One step at a time...nothing was perfect, but all the same he didn't want to destroy the good that he'd managed to get somehow.

 

Roxas frowned though, undeniably hearing the snort and then placed a hand on the other's chest. “I know you are...and don't forget:

 

You're mine, and I'm yours.”

 

Vanitas smirked at that and asked in a teasing tone, “Something else you want to tell me, Roxy? I didn't think you were so possessive.”

 

He laughed as Roxas immediately withdrew his hand, flushing and said, “I...I thought it'll sound romantic...”

 

He really was so adorable.

 

…

 

Also, a worrywart, but Vanitas was rather intimate with that aspect of the blond, especially as the other still peeked his head out of the door as the black-haired male went off. Eventually he checked behind him to see the door was closed; at least he did have enough faith in him not to get _too_ much into trouble. Though, he'd also given him a red scarf before he went out...something about it being too cool outside and wanting to make sure he didn't catch a cold. He smirked to himself, recalling Roxas' worry so fondly, and it made him feel so warm inside.

 

He'd been so distracted in his thoughts over Roxas that he'd hardly noticed the red-haired figure sitting on the bench as he came towards the center of town until said figure raised a hand in greeting. “Hey, you actually came.”

 

Vanitas didn't return the greeting, because he was fucking rude, but also due to not being the type who'd wave around his hand in the slightest bit. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. “What did you want? To tell me how much I don't deserve to have your little friend?

 

Or maybe you're here to tell me to back off because you want him all for yourself?”

 

Lea held up his hands and said, “Woah, woah, woah. Hold on now. I'm not here for any of those things. I just wanted to know...what were your intentions and all of that?”

 

The black-haired boy smirked and tilted his head and asked, “Even after you'd teased him?”

 

The red head blinked. “Eh?”

 

“Don't 'Eh' me. I heard from Roxas you teased him about you and me getting together...or was that to cover up your jealousy?”

 

At that, Lea laughed, and that simply made Vanitas' eyes narrow. The red head rose up his hands to look disarming and said, “I'm serious. I don't have any interest in Roxas; not like that.

 

Just ask Isa...I'm taking him out on a date next week. But, besides that, I really want an answer from you. Gotta look out for him, you know? A lot of people used him in the past just because they could.”

 

Vanitas scowled and he said, “I don't plan on doing anything to him, if that's what you're worried about. But I doubt you'd trust me if I'd say something like that.”

 

The red head gave a bit of a shrug and replied, “You've got it right. But, hearing you say that eases the worry just a lil'. I don't think I need to say what'd happen if you _did_ mess around with him, right?”

 

He knew why the other was worried, but at the same time, Vanitas couldn't help but feel irritated and spat at Lea's feet, making those green irises widen for a bit. The black haired boy said darkly, “You're wasting my time. I'll go and you'll just buzz off. Got it?”

 

Then he turned on the heel of his foot, shoving his hands into his pockets as he began to put some distance between him and Lea. “Hold on.”

 

Vanitas huffed a sound of irritance past his lips and turned his head to face the other, only to see the red head dangling a piece of paper in front of him. “What's this supposed to be?”

 

Lea said with a slight grin, “Things Roxas hates and likes. Thought you might want it.”

 

“Tch, as if I need _your_ help...or want it!”

 

But...Vanitas snatched it right out of the red head's hands before shoving it straight into one of his pockets, and did his best to ignore the smug look on the other's face. It would probably just piss him off, honestly. He didn't say bye, even as the red head gave him a 'see ya later!' because he saw no point, and of course before he even began to near Roxas' place again, a portal of darkness opened up in front of him. Out walked Xigbar, with a smirk on his lips. “Well, well, well...what do we have here? Both you and Roxas, holding hands and on your way to saying your marriage vows.”

 

Vanitas growled, feeling the darkness stir within himself and snapped, “What do _you_ want?”

 

The man shook his head and gestured with both of his hands, holding them out. “Nothing much. Just for you to follow me. There's some things we have to discuss...fate of the universe, and all of that. Think of it as a repayment for helping you two in a way and makin' sure you didn't just fade away! Sound like a good deal to you?”

 

At that moment, the black-haired boy's lips curved upwards into a cruel smile and he held out his hand, summoning Void Gear to it. He said, “No. Besides, none of us asked for your 'help', or wanted it.”

 

“But you owe me, don't you?”

 

For some reason, Vanitas hesitated. His mind flashed images of Xehanort, who created him, and thus owed his creation to him. He let out another growl as he lashed out at Xigbar, who stepped back, moving out of the way of the slash, summoning his pistols. Before he could fire off a shot, a blast of light hit him, making him grunt and turn his head to see a black-haired girl with a Keyblade in her hands. “Leave _him_ alone!”

 

Xigbar cursed and quickly warped out of there before Void Gear tore through him, leaving an irritated-looking Vanitas and Xion behind. She turned to face Vanitas and asked, “Are you alright?”

 

Vanitas scoffed and said, “ _Please_ , he hadn't even a chance to land a hit on me. I'll be fine...

 

What were you doing out here anyway?”

 

The black-haired female blinked and then her cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment as she smiled a little. “Oh! Um, actually I was just on my way home after a late night walk, and I happened to see what was going on...it's a good thing Twilight Town's really not that big.”

 

Vanitas released a contemplative sound. “Guess so.”

 

Then he continued his walk but didn't even bother as so much summoning away his Keyblade and neither did Xion. “Mind if I follow you a little bit? It might be for the best.”

 

“Do whatever you want. I can handle myself just fine, but I already know how you are...you'd just whine until I'd say yes.”

 

Xion puffed out her cheeks as they headed towards Roxas' residence—or Vanitas supposed it was now _his_ and Roxas' place. “Hey! That's SO not true.”

 

Vanitas smirked but didn't say anything. When they reached the door, Roxas opened it so enthusiastically that Vanitas was sure it was about to fly off it's hinges. He then asked, “Xion? Did you two decide to meet up...?”

 

Xion rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Kind of...? We kind of just ran into Xigbar...he looked like he wanted something with Vanitas.”

 

Roxas frowned and Vanitas almost wondered if he'd have to worry about hearing the other yell himself hoarse about how worried he was and 'I told you so's but that didn't happen. “Alright...”

 

Xion then smiled and said, “Well, I'll be heading back home. I'm going to be falling asleep and--”

 

“Getting yourself killed,” Vanitas helped end that off with, causing her to give him a Look, and Roxas blinked before laughing a little. “...I think it might be too dangerous for just any of us to be wandering around by ourselves. I still have that guest room?”

 

Xion blinked and then smiled a little. “Oh, alright. Thanks for worrying, Vanitas.”

 

“I'm not worrying about you, so don't get the wrong idea!”

 

Both Roxas and Xion exchanged knowing looks, smiling at each other...much to Vanitas' mounting frustration. Then the black-haired male was entering into the house proper, grumbling a little as he did.

 

When Xion followed suit, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and locked the door shut.

 

…

 

“...yeah, that's what happened. I'm not sure what he wants with Vanitas, but I'm going to make sure that nothing happens with him.”

 

Vanitas lazed on the couch as Xion lounged on the loveseat, listening to Roxas talk on the small phone he'd gotten from Sora. There was an image of Ienzo and Even on the other side, though the blond was more in the background as he was working on things. “You can tell Sora and the rest to give them an update, but let them know we've mostly got it handled. I don't want certain people freaking out...there was kind of an incident today and it might be soon enough for things to get suddenly out of hand.”

 

Ienzo's voice filtered through just fine. “You know that there will probably some cause for concern and...overdramatics after everything. You weren't there for when Vanitas delivered you to Radiant Garden, and it was bound to be a complete mess if he didn't leave after a short few seconds.”

 

Roxas frowned and asked, “What do you mean...?”

 

“He didn't tell you?”

 

Vanitas tensed up and began to pick at the arm of the couch, tempted to get up and leave. “No, he didn't.”

 

“...The others reacted badly and some of them blamed him for what happened.”

 

Even spoke up, “Couldn't blame them, really. There was some history.”

 

Ienzo hissed at him, “Not now, Even.”

 

“I was just simply saying...”

 

“You said enough,” Ienzo said and sighed. “We'll relay the information over to the others and keep looking into what's going on with Xigbar. Honestly, him being a Keyblade Wielder is a troubling development, especially since we have no idea what he's planning, but I suppose we take it one step at a time.

 

In the meanwhile, take care Roxas, Vanitas, and Xion...I hope we see each other but with more bright news.”

 

Xion said, “Me too...bye Ienzo! Good luck dealing with the grumpy butthead!”

 

Roxas smiled and said, “Yeah.”

 

Even's voice suddenly cut in again, “I'm NOT A G--”

 

Then the connection dropped as Ienzo shut off his side of the call and Vanitas snorted, until Roxas asked, “Vanitas...why didn't you tell me this happened?”

 

“Honestly, I forgot it did. Doesn't matter now since you're back.”

 

Judging by the looks on the other two's faces, Vanitas guessed it mattered a lot to them. Xion then got up and said, “I'm going to bed early. You two have a good night, alright?”

 

 _Traitor_ , thought Vanitas, knowing she purposefully left in order for him to face Roxas' wrath alone. When the blond did give his good night, Roxas immediately faced Vanitas, who sighed, sinking into the couch somewhat. But, Roxas didn't yell at him, he just looked sad and it made him feel kind of irritated enough to say, “Look, it was always going to be that way. That old idiot is right; it's for good reason.”

 

Roxas moved closer and then brought his arms around him, holding Vanitas tight and close to him. The black-haired male muttered, “It doesn't matter anymore, so just...forget about it.”

 

It still hurt though. At the time, Vanitas had blocked out his own feelings but now when he thought back to it, it hurt so much...he gritted his teeth at the thought. Roxas asked, “It hurt didn't, it?”

 

Vanitas thought back to earlier. He felt ashamed. Roxas could be there for him so easily but after he'd hurt him, his words sounded just half-hearted and pathetic in his head. He sighed and just let himself melt into Roxas' embrace, though. He said softly, “I'm tired.”

 

Roxas smiled and said, “Let's go to bed then, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

…

 

Vanitas' dreams were less than comfortable.

 

Images flashed before his eyes.

 

Grass. Dandelions. **Unions** . Keyblade Wielders. **Guilds**.

 

Then, he saw himself standing on a beach, where the afternoon sun had begun to eclipse beyond the horizon. His feet were bare, touching the soft sand gently and feeling content. By his side stood Roxas, and the blond stepped a little into the water, until the water was up to his ankles. He turned to Vanitas and said, smiling, “Someday...this dream will end.”

 

 _Dream_?, Vanitas thought in confusion and said, “Don't be stupid. This dream will, but we'll still be together.”

 

Roxas suddenly looked tired. “...I want to believe that people like us could live happily...together. But, I wonder how—”

 

“—You wonder how _what_?”

 

The blond said something, but the sudden rolling of waves drowned out Roxas' words as he spoke—and Vanitas reached out to grab a hold of the other's hand. Then a flash of light came over them and Vanitas felt the other pulled away from him and—

 

—Roxas' hand slipped away just like that.

 

…

 

Vanitas sat up in the bed immediately, and heard the sound of thunder crackle outside the window. He didn't recall such weather being forecasted for tonight, but here it was, and he heard the sound of something...like a small noise hidden in the quiet night. He turned to see the source of it was the blond trembling a little in the blankets, and he frowned a little to himself, reaching out to the other to pull Roxas close to him as he laid back down. It was easy to see the small blond turn from the side to into him, head burying into his shoulder, as his hand moved to gently caress his hair.

 

He said gently, “Hey...”

 

Roxas said nothing still, shoulders tense, but eventually relaxed just a little. He heard him say, “I hate thunderstorms, they're so... _loud_.”

 

Vanitas almost laughed, and a small snort escaped him. “Never thought you'd be afraid of something like this.”

 

He felt a light punch against his chest in response and he supposed he deserved that. But other than that, it seemed like Roxas hadn't really taken much offense to it, and even managed to fall asleep against him at some point, breaths coming out evenly. It wasn't long that he followed suit, and this time when he dreamt, he could only remember a soothing warmth as the dredges of sleep took him.

 

…

 

Roxas woke up and saw Vanitas not beside him, getting him to rise from the covers immediately, but then he stopped upon sniffing the air...catching the scent of something good. He carried himself out of his room in his Pjs and saw the black-haired male negotiating the pan with some eggs in them. He turned to face Roxas with a tiny frown, that then turned into a smile as he _really_ saw him.

 

The blond wondered if it was just the sun's rays filtering into the windows, but for once, Vanitas looked really bright just then. “Xion already had her portion since you were too busy sleeping in.”

 

Okay, maybe he takes that back. He looks like a big blinding jerkface right now. Roxas put his hands on his hips and asked, “Isn't it usually you who's sleeping in?”

 

Vanitas smirked as he went back to flipping the food in the pan. “But today I'm not, so whatever argument you have for right now is moot.”

 

Roxas came over and poked at Vanitas' sides making him _laugh_ and then begin to swat at his hands. “Seriously?! I'm trying to cook some food for you and this is the thanks I get?!”

 

“Yep, you absolutely deserve it too.”

 

“...Maybe I should burn this on purpose.”

 

Roxas pouted and said, “You wouldn't dare!”

 

Vanitas looked smug. “I would.”

 

After messing around, the two sat down to finally eat. The blond smiled over at Vanitas, noticing him picking at his food. He wondered...what was on his mind. Though, he'll get his answer soon enough when the blond said, “You didn't have to get up early and cook something.”

 

Vanitas huffed and said, “But I did.”

 

Roxas blinked, wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden, but saw Vanitas turn his head away, a soft flush at his cheeks. Maybe he was saying the wrong thing, and almost laughed a little at the thought. “...Thanks for doing this. I really do appreciate it.”

 

The other turned to face him quietly, but said nothing. Roxas decided to get up and deposit his plate into the sink, and would have retrieved Vanitas' now empty one, but the other had come upon him silently before Roxas ever noticed. He couldn't help but notice their now close proximity to each other and the way his golden irises looked into his. The black-haired boy muttered, “I...I did it because I love you. I never said...any of those word...even after we did all of that, did I?”

 

Roxas felt a surge of happiness rise in him and he leaned to softly kiss the other's lips, and then pulled back. “No, but I had a feeling you felt the same even without saying. Actions speak louder than words, after all.”

 

Vanitas said, “Yeah but words give greater weight to those actions.”

 

He felt the other's arms slip around his waist, and continued speaking, “I was still worried if any of this would even work. But, I realized that if it didn't you'd probably have kicked me out a few days ago.”

 

“I was tempted to when you stole the remote.”

 

Romantic moment. Ruined.

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and then flicked the other on his forehead after withdrawing a hand, and Roxas stuck his tongue out to him. Then, the blond asked, “How about I show you how to use the phone?”

 

They got straight to that after cleaning up in the kitchen. Though Vanitas wasn't a fan of sitting around, he definitely made sure to pay attention to every single word that left Roxas' mouth.

 


End file.
